You may have seen this famous quote before, referencing the rise of the Nazis in Germany:
- First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
- Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
- Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
- Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
These are the words of Martin Niemöller was a prominent German pastor and theologian. He became an outspoken public foe of Adolph Hitler and the Nazis who was arrested and sent to concentration camps. He later was freed by the Allies and made this quote when reflecting after the war ended.
Why is this quote relevant for Asians, particularly Asians in North American in the 21st century?
While we have all probably encountered either overt or subtle discrimination in one form or another while living the United States. Historically, Asians were treated very poorly in the U.S. over the centuries. While we were not brought here against our will as slaves and kept in bondage under unimaginably inhumane conditions for hundreds of years, Asians in the U.S. suffered degradation in many respects. From cruel treatment while we labored to build the railroads in the west, to crude stereotypes in Hollywood, newspaper cartoons, and in television and radio commercials, life was never very easy for Asians in this country for most of its history. Even today, some in our communities recently came under attack as a result of ignorant paranoia in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.
New Asian Immigrants; New Issue
Many of us who are more recently immigrants may not be as familiar with this legacy of racism in the United States. While there has been very diverse set of immigrant experiences between various Asian populations and even within them, many Asian Americans came with here with very little but worked very hard to provide good lives to their children. Over the past few decades especially, many others came here with university educations and are financially comfortable. Our children have done so well academically that we are at a disadvantage now when applying for prestigious universities. So compared to several other minorities, we are fortunate (admittedly this is a broad generalization).
Hopefully, we are not living in the same kind of fear of being killed or beaten by the police. We have not had our communities devastated by the same types of systematic oppression and poverty that black Americans have faced. Which brings us back to our original question: why should black lives matter to Asians?
Diversity Is the Future
There are several reasons why black lives should matter to us. The most fundamental reason is morality. No human beings, no matter what race or religion, should have their human rights violated or be targeted because of the color of their skin. The other reason is best expressed by the quote at the beginning of this post. Right now, we might not be the main targets of institutional racism, but persecution rarely stops at one group. The same types of people who might attack black people, may also attack Asians if another spark sets them off. For example, if tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate, unhinged racists may start attacking Asians and Asian businesses, not stopping to even check or care if we might actually be Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, etc.
Solidarity Makes Us Grow Stronger
The same mentality that led to paranoid attacks on Asians of all backgrounds due to irrational Coronavirus fears could easily rear its ugly head again. The point is, disease of racism hurts us all, and even though today Asians may not be the number 1 target, if we remain silent and allow the disease of racism to grow stronger, we just may find ourselves the next victims.
photo credit: Muhammadtaha Ibrahim Ma’aji on pexels
